[He wants to fidget, restlessness wanting to take a physical form, but instead he stays still, like a wary bird waiting for cues.]
It's natural to want the best for nakama, to want their joy and happiness. So it's great you want that for Luffy. But do you really think he'd want to be back there without you guys?
[A good captain protects the crew no matter what. Goes down with the ship and sees everyone else to safety long before seeking it himself.]
[Marco freezes even more and shakes his head. Perhaps that was too much. Robbing the Straw Hats of the biggest comfort they might find in having him gone was just cruel, and certainly not how he meant it.]
I'm sorry I don't mean that he doesn't deserve freedom, he does. So do you, and Ace, and Sabo, and everyone here.
But freedom is also the right to choose. And if he could, if the Malnosso didn't rob him of that choice, do you still think he'd leave? [Leave his crew to face troubles without him? Leave Ace and Sabo even though he can never see them again?]
[Marco's tense and he hates this. Lying to protect her isn't going to protect her, he doesn't like seeing her hurt and almost in denial about why, and he's still just avoiding having this conversation even worse with Ace when he gets home. He moves to get up, not sure Robin would really want him around after all this.] Sometimes the hardest part of trusting nakama is letting them throw themselves into danger, because if you don't, you're taking away their freedom, and that which makes them who they are.
[And Marco knew that better than anyone. Especially after Ace. Even in the war of Marineford they couldn't get Ace's little brother to just stay someplace safe. They couldn't get him to step back or stop being rash. The most they could do was keep supporting him, just like with Little Oars Jr.]
[Action]
It's natural to want the best for nakama, to want their joy and happiness. So it's great you want that for Luffy. But do you really think he'd want to be back there without you guys?
[A good captain protects the crew no matter what. Goes down with the ship and sees everyone else to safety long before seeking it himself.]
[Marco freezes even more and shakes his head. Perhaps that was too much. Robbing the Straw Hats of the biggest comfort they might find in having him gone was just cruel, and certainly not how he meant it.]
I'm sorry I don't mean that he doesn't deserve freedom, he does. So do you, and Ace, and Sabo, and everyone here.
But freedom is also the right to choose. And if he could, if the Malnosso didn't rob him of that choice, do you still think he'd leave? [Leave his crew to face troubles without him? Leave Ace and Sabo even though he can never see them again?]
[Marco's tense and he hates this. Lying to protect her isn't going to protect her, he doesn't like seeing her hurt and almost in denial about why, and he's still just avoiding having this conversation even worse with Ace when he gets home. He moves to get up, not sure Robin would really want him around after all this.] Sometimes the hardest part of trusting nakama is letting them throw themselves into danger, because if you don't, you're taking away their freedom, and that which makes them who they are.
[And Marco knew that better than anyone. Especially after Ace. Even in the war of Marineford they couldn't get Ace's little brother to just stay someplace safe. They couldn't get him to step back or stop being rash. The most they could do was keep supporting him, just like with Little Oars Jr.]